Hooked On Driving - The Team
David Ray – HOD founder and Group Leader
In a previous life, David was a partner in a Northern California staffing firm called Advantage Personnel, servicing companies like Wells Fargo, Pacific Bell, Airtouch Communications and Chevron. After selling the business in 1998, he served in a management development and executive coaching role during which, his clients discovered his passion for automobiles and driving, and pressed him to organize track days – and one thing led to another….His motorsports experience includes competing in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Regional racing program from 1985 to present. In 1994, David scored his first San Francisco Regional championship in an ITS Datsun 240Z, and in 2006 he won his second, while setting the T2 class track record at Laguna Seca three separate times in the Dirito Brothers Nissan sponsored Nissan 350Z. He has also held qualifying and race lap records at Thunderhill, and Infineon Raceway in the 350Z. But more importantly to his current role, he began as an instructor for the SCCA competition licensing school in 1989 and fell in love with sharing the hobby. As a result, he began volunteering as a coach for track days in the early ‘90’s, and decided to make it his full time enterprise in 2004. One of his proudest achievements is his role as Chair of the new track committee of the San Francisco Region of the SCCA in support of President Tom McCarthy, and now CEO David Vodden, in the development, fund raising and construction of Thunderhill Raceway. Ray currently serves on the Thunderhill Board of Directors. In the final analysis, Ray’s goal is to share his passion for driving, whether it is in a High Performance Driving environment such as Hooked On Driving, or assisting HOD drivers to move to faster and more competitive venues.
Joe Mills – Owner/Operator & Group Leader – HOD Northeast Region
In his professional career, Joe has held a number of Engineering, Program Management and Executive positions with Telecommunications industry leaders. Joe has over 10 years driving and coaching experience with the Porsche Club of America, BMW Car Club of America and other High Performance Driving Programs. “My goal is to make High Performance Driving Programs friendly and fun for beginners, while operating a safe program that is effective in teaching strong fundamentals. I find my role as a driving coach one of the most rewarding, as we guide our drivers through possibly one of the highlights of their lives. When I discovered Hooked On Driving and the HOD approach, I knew right-away it would be a great fit in the Northeast and exactly where I needed to be!”
Henry Gilbert – Owner/Operator & Group Leader – HOD Florida Region
Henry, a Vietnam Veteran (tank commander), has a very extensive professional motorsports background. Owner of the Sports Car Driving Experience, an SCCA approved racing school, Henry felt that adding performance driving events to his existing business made sense – and that Hooked On Driving was the organization he wanted to do it with.
Henry’s background is very impressive:
- Grand Am Rolex Daytona Prototype drive
- T1 National Champion (Corvette) – Southeast Division – 2002
- Grand-Am Cup driver
- Speed World Challenge GT class driver
- Stunt driver for many movies, including serving as cast driving instructor for Fast and Furious II
- Professional Driving Instructor for:
- Skip Barber, Brands Hatch Racing School, Justin Bell Driving School
We’re pleased to have Henry aboard as our Franchisee for all of Florida.
Rob Schermerhorn, Motorsports Program Manager, Engineer, Pro-driver
Owner/Operator, HOD Great Lakes Region
After college Rob got a break with a privateer Trans-Am team Orion Motorsports, leading to Sports 2000 and Formula Atlantic experience with Prather Racing. An opportunity in the early Nineties started a 10-year tenure managing Lake Forest Sportscars, LTD. Ferrari Authorized race operations.
Vehicle evaluation requires driving talent; Rob’s dialed in with most modern Ferraris on-track, certified at Michelin’s LPG testing facility, demonstrated drifting for Chrysler SRT events and slid police cars around with the best during high-intensity military ‘immediate action drills’. He’s also worked in the Ride & Drive industry as a pro-driver for auto manufacturer events for Ford, Chrysler, Honda/Acura, GM, BMW, and Jaguar.
“I saw the growth of the performance driving niche and realized its potential. Opening the Great Lakes region of the national Hooked On Driving performance driving events company is a natural expansion of our business… it helps that we have a lot of fun with it too”, says Delta Vee Motorsports, LLC President Rob Schermerhorn.
Vehicle dynamics safety skills training, advocating safe driver habits is Rob's highest professional priority.
Hooked On Driving Great Lakes region is based in Kalamazoo, MI. Call 847.380.9508 or email greatlakes@hookedondriving.com for more information and to get on track.
Dave Auer Owner/Operator, HOD Southern State Region
For the majority of Dave’s life he was able to take his passion from ski racing and turn it into a 30+ year career in the ski business, concluding with a successful run as CEO of Fischer Skis. Along the way, he also got bit by the SCCA racing bug and had a good amount of success as a national competitor in SRF and Formula 2000. Dave has now decided to utilize this experience on track as a racer, by sharing it with others. “The friends I have made at the track will be with me forever. HOD's approach to High Performance Driving brings this, in a safe, controlled and non-competitive environment. I am look forward to spreading word about the sport of performance driving. Email Dave at dauer@hookedondriving.com for information.
Don Clinkinbeard Regional Owner - HOD Pacific Northwest Region
Don is a Senior Engineering Manager for a major semiconductor manufacturer. He has held many positions throughout his 37 career from Maintenance Technician through Principle Engineer, before switching to the management track.
Don began his love affair with Driving on the track in 1994. He has been an instructor since 2000 and has taught at numerous west coast tracks for PCA, BMW, Alfa, Corvette and SCCA among other programs. He served as CDI before becoming the HPDE chair for the Oregon Region of PCA (ORPCA) about 6 years ago, growing the program from 3 event days annually to 12 in 2010. “The most rewarding part of coaching in this fine hobby is when you get your student to connect with the concept or skill you are trying to build. It is the greatest feeling in the world when you can help someone achieve a sense of accomplishment and even mastery of a skill.”
I ran into David Ray at Thunderhill Raceway in the fall of 2010 and we talked briefly about this program. Over the months since then we had talked many times and my sense of excitement grew with each conversation. The HOD program aligns very well with what I have been working towards in the Portland area. I feel the time is right for us to take this hobby to a new level and provide a great development program for our customers and friends that is consistent across the US.
Debbie Clinkinbeard Regional Owner, Registrar and Operations Team leader – HOD Pacific Northwest Region Debbie has 10 years of HPDE experience as a Driver in our GT3 class Porsche 944 Turbo and as Chief of Track Operations for ORPCA. She has served as a pace car driver for PCA Club Racing in Portland and has run the Tower at Portland International Raceway for about 10 years with ORPCA and more recently at Oregon Raceway Park. Debbie was a key player in establishing the first club events at this fun venue.. She is a great organizer as well as trouble shooter ensuring that our customers are well cared for and presented with a safe and enjoyable day at the track.
Tom McCullough - Chief Driving Coach & Group Leader – HOD Northeast Region
Tom is retired from a long career with IBM where he held a number of senior technical, marketing, consulting, and management positions. He’s now working part-time for the U.S. Postal Service which (almost) pays for his track addiction. Tom has over 10 years experience Coaching with the Porsche Club of America, BMW Car Cub of America, and other High Performance Driver Education programs. Tom has been dubbed the “Novice Wrangler” for his ability to assist beginners in getting into a “comfort zone” rather than being intimidated by their new surroundings. Tom says, “I clearly remember my first day on the track and believe I know what’s in the minds of the first-timers we meet. I can see the enthusiasm, concern — and sometimes, bravado — in their eyes. Helping to deal with these emotions in a positive way is a great feeling of accomplishment. One of my greatest pleasures is seeing the ear-to-ear grin on the face of a driver at the end of his or her first day on the track when they too have realized that feeling of accomplishment.”
Dev Clough* – Coaching Coordinator, Group Leader
Dev is the champion kart racer among us. Competing in motorsports since 1980, he’s run karts, the Mazda RX-7 series with NASA and SCCA. Clearly the H.O.D. member with the most time instructing, Dev has taught with 7 different clubs, is an SCCA competition licensing instructor, and was the “Instructor of the Year” for NASA in 1999. While always available to assist in coaching, Dev currently serves as Chief Instructor for the Thunderhill Street School showing his willingness to manage an event by well-defined rules – and stick to them. Dev’s sincere and personal style has helped many nervous drivers relax and focus on the skills they need to practice in going fast safely. He currently serves in a key role while managing and developing current and future coaches for the HOD program.
Daryl “DW” Witbeck* – Group Leader
If you need a building built, Daryl's the guy to talk to. His "real job" currently involves building libraries, schools, and major commercial projects. We think that the skills Daryl uses daily in communicating complicated information to a varied audience translates well to his work with Hooked On Driving. DW has been an SCCA competitor for 8 years, initially in a Spec Racer Ford and now dukes it out in the very competitive Spec Miata class. DW also combines his engineering background with his passion for the logistics and physical challenges as a regular driver in endurance road races.
In addition, he has been an instructor at Thunderhill for six years, and has received rave reviews from his students. Primarily serving as our beginner, Group A instructor, Daryl uses a no-nonsense way of explaining the key elements of performance driving. DW was a strong influence on our coaching curriculum to assure that everyone, no matter their background, understands the fundamental terminology and concepts that we use in HOD programs. This ensures that all drivers, beginner and advanced, are “speaking the same language” as the coaching staff.
Terry Geiser* - Lead Track/Safety Steward and Driver Observer
These key roles have been developed for HOD by Terry. He honed his communication skills as a White House staffer – so you know he can explain things! As a multiple marque aficionado, Terry has logged many days and hours as a student and now instructor for the Audi Club and HOD. He is the Chief Instructor for the Audi Club Golden Gate chapter, and was a founder of the Bay Area Cobra Club, – talk about automotive diversity!! Whether in role as a Coach, Group Leader, Track Steward, or Driver Observer you can count on Terry bringing his enthusiasm and positive spirit to the track. His priorities at the track have always been on the balance of safety, fun, and learning. Terry is at his best with studded tires, in “Quattro”, on frozen lakes, 100 miles north of the arctic circle in Finland where a turn in is called the "flick."
Leigh Ray – Registrar, Administrative Manager
Leigh inherited this responsibility, as "the idea guy", David, needed a lot of help keeping things organized as the business grew. With a background in marketing research for Ford Motor Company, and a division of Dun & Bradstreet, as well as marketing, sales promotion, and special event management for Pepsi, her analytical skills have been an asset to the HOD team. Leigh sees to it that logistics for each event are well-managed, and each participant receives a complete, customized packet to facilitate their day with HOD.
Scott Graeber - Chief Steward & Chief of Operations – HOD Northeast Region
Scott is a decorated 17 year veteran of the Garden City, NY Police Department and a Senior Field Training Officer, instructing new officers. He is qualified in Emergency Vehicle Operations, Accident Investigation/Reconstruction and Vehicle Dynamics. Scott has over 12 years driving and coaching experience in numerous sports cars including Mustangs, Corvettes, BMWs, Ferraris and Porsches. Scott has over 10 years experience in Track Operations including Safety & Flagging Steward, Pit Lane Marshall, Tech Inspector, Chief Tech Inspector and Incident Investigation and Management. In his spare time, Scott enjoys working on his own cars and supporting the team at TKX Performance. " I have found that it is not the car you drive that makes High Performance Driving exciting, it’s the driver! I get immense pleasure teaching others new skills and how to have confidence in themselves and their car. The smile on their faces when they first demonstrate these skills is priceless! The HOD program allows me to interact with all types of people and cars with the opportunity to help them become better drivers. Seeing the excitement in our new friends at the end of the day over what they have learned and experienced is my favorite reward.”
Curt Andrews, Pro-driver. Chief Driving Coach – Great Lakes Region
What more could a fourteen year old want than sliding around a racetrack in a machine more capable than the hottest Ferrari? Curt Andrews was hooked on driving the day he first strapped on a 125cc shifter kart; power to weight ratio much greater than the F40, the pinnacle of automobiledom that year. Karts and motocross qualified Curt for the Skip Barber Race Series, with which he was champion in 2000. Invited to instruct with Skip, he demonstrated skills in vehicle dynamics responsible for equalizing the fleet of race school cars plus establishing the pro-driver benchmark all aspiring drivers attempt to achieve.
Curt excels in car-control skill (you should see him drift a Viper), but more importantly for you he excels as a coach; with thousands of better drivers on the road today as a result of Curt’s dedication to sharing this knowledge of “it’s not what you drive, but how WELL you drive it”.
